Of Dinner Dates and Fistfights
by DinerGuy
Summary: 2018 reboot. Rick's plan for the evening was simple: enjoy his date and not waste a second on any favors for Thomas. Of course, that was before the two criminals walked into the restaurant...


_A/N: I wrote this a little while back but decided it would be fun to wait and post on Valentine's. I thought our favorite marshmallow deserved some love... although, you know, it's me so I can't let him off the hook _too _easily. 0:) Hope you all enjoy!_

_Standard disclaimers apply._

* * *

Rick's day was going great. Beyond great, actually.

Not only was he able to get away from La Mariana on a Friday night, but he was at one of the best restaurants on the island. Plus, miraculously, Thomas seemed to have actually listened when Rick had warned his friend about calling or texting for favors tonight.

However, the best part of the night was the woman now making her way back to his table. Rick smiled as he caught sight of her returning from the ladies' room.

Rick hadn't been sure he'd meet another girl he'd actually be interested in after Toni had left. _That _had hurt. Plus, he might've accidentally killed the plant she'd given him, and that in itself had taken him a whole week to get over.

But then he'd stopped by his favorite surf shop and bumped into the most beautiful woman. She was… well, she was perfect, and Kumu _had _been telling him he should move on, so Rick had somehow worked up the courage to ask the woman—Beth—out. She had actually smiled and accepted, and Rick had been beside himself in a way he didn't remember having been in years. That had led to a great first date over coffee, and _that_ had led to where he was now, out to dinner and very much enjoying himself.

Or rather, he _was _enjoying himself up until he glanced toward the door and noticed the two men who'd just walked in. Neither looked particularly amicable, which Rick was almost inclined to chalk up to a bad day, but then he noticed the telltale bulge against their shirts—and then one of them turned enough that Rick spotted a tattoo on the inside of his right forearm…

Just great.

It was just his luck—and on tonight of all nights. Rick really wished Thomas's cases would stop affecting every area of his life.

He recognized the guy's ink from video he'd just seen that morning, when Thomas had convinced him to use his pull at a local bar to view the place's security footage for any sign of… well, of something. To be honest, Rick hadn't been fully paying attention. But—

Rick shook his head. No, he still didn't care. It was like he'd told Thomas already: Rick had a life of his own, and, tonight, that included dinner with a beautiful woman. There was no chance Rick was risking his love life over a case he wouldn't even get paid for if he did help solve it. He was going to enjoy Beth's company and not give the criminal a second look.

Well… or not a third look. Rick glanced from the two men to his phone, then made a decision. He and Beth were already on their dessert course. He'd just wait until they'd left and then text Thomas. That would solve all of Rick's problems; he wouldn't have to feel guilty about a bad guy getting away, but he wouldn't have to put his evening in jeopardy either.

Beth smiled as she rejoined him. "You look deep in thought," she remarked playfully. "Anything I should know?"

In reply, he shook his head and returned her grin. "Nah, everything's fine," he told her. "I was just thinking how lucky I am that you agreed to go out with me twice."

She laughed, a sweet sound that he already knew he wanted to hear more of. "And here I was thinking the same thing." She brushed a strand of hair from her face and winked.

"Hey now, I thought I asked you out."

"True, but you wouldn't have if you didn't _want _to go out with me. That means you agreed to go on a second date." Beth gave him another winning smile and then reached for her spoon. "Now, are you going to help me finish this cake, or do I have to eat it all by myself?"

Rick was halfway to picking up his own utensil when it happened.

The sound of sirens came from somewhere down the street, which normally wouldn't have attracted much attention inside the restaurant. However, this was no usual instance, and Rick's gaze immediately darted to the two guys from moments before. Sure enough, they both looked extremely nervous, and one moved over to gain a line of sight out of the front window.

Rick's heart sank. This wasn't going to end well. He quickly dug out his wallet. "Hey, Beth, what do you say we get out of here?"

She tilted her head. "But we still have, like, half of our dessert left."

"I'm, uh, not really hungry anymore," he lied. Dropping several bills on the table, he stood as he tucked his wallet back in his pocket. "I know a great place for a stroll on the beach."

"Rick, what's going on? Is something wrong?" Beth asked in confusion, quite obviously concerned about his sudden change in demeanor—which was fair, Rick had to admit.

Rick bit his lip as he tried to decide on his best move. The bad guys were more than likely going to do something rash soon, and he just needed to get Beth out of the place before somebody pulled a gun. Making up his mind, he took a deep breath. "Look, I don't want to worry you, but we really need to leave—now. Please," he added. "I'll explain everything once we're outside; I promise."

Her brow furrowed as she studied his face, then she nodded and reached for her purse. "Okay."

Rick breathed a sigh of relief and took her hand as they headed for the door. They managed to get outside, and Rick started for the valet stand, but then a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

Of course, things had to get worse.

Rick swallowed despite himself and turned around. The men who had been inside a moment before—the men Rick had recognized as the Magnum's current suspects—had followed them outside the restaurant. And Rick did not like the gleam in their eyes.

"I know you!" the goon with the ink on his arm—Reilly, Rick remembered—snarled as his eyes met Rick's.

Rick's heart sank. "Uh, no, sorry, man. I get that a lot; just have one of those faces, I guess."

"Nah," the guy pressed. "No, no, you run with that P.I., Magnum."

Reilly's friend—whose name Rick couldn't remember at the moment—crossed his arms, and Rick really wanted to be anywhere but right there at the moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rick said, feeling Beth holding his hand behind his back. That made him even angrier at these idiots. "I'm just a normal guy out on a date, okay? I don't want any trouble."

When Rick tried to move toward the parking lot, Reilly stepped in front of him to block his path. Rick noticed the valet was currently not at his stand and sighed. There was no help coming from that direction, at least for now. He just hoped someone inside had spotted what was happening and called for help.

He also—surprisingly—found himself wishing he had texted Thomas when he first saw the criminals. At least then he would have been assured of help arriving at some point soon. His attempt to keep the night uneventful might have just backfired on him… but he wasn't about to have to admit that to anyone, so it looked like solving the situation was up to Rick.

"Look," he told the men, raising his free hand in what he hoped was a placating manner. "I don't know who you think I am, but you have it wrong, okay? I run La Mariana—you know, the tiki bar? I'm no detective, okay?"

Beth hadn't said anything, but Rick could still feel her behind him, holding his hand. He swallowed, starting to wonder if this would tank his chances with her for a third date. If he didn't get them out of this situation soon… well, he wasn't going to let that happen. They were going to get out of this place, go for a romantic walk on the beach, and forget anything bad had ever happened. They just had to get past these guys…

"Nah, you know, I'm pretty sure you work with Magnum," Reilly snapped, crossing his arms. "And, wouldn't you know it, we're on the run _because _of Magnum." He exchanged a look with his buddy and then smirked at Rick before glancing at Beth. "So _you two _can give him a message for us."

Rick gritted his teeth and slipped his hand out of Beth's as the men moved. The last thing he was going to do was let her get hurt because of his connection to Thomas.

When Reilly stepped forward, his fists clenched, Rick was ready for him. He ducked the swing from the man and came up with a fist to Reilly's chin. He managed to drive the guy back a few steps, then landed a right hook that connected with the goon's jaw. It was enough to send Reilly stumbling to the ground, but Rick didn't have any time to think about his victory before the second goon slammed into him in a football tackle.

Rick felt himself hit the pavement hard, but he refused to pay any attention to the pain now radiating through his arm. Bucking his weight upward, Rick knocked the man off of him and jumped to his feet—only to be met with a beefy fist to his jaw that threw him to the side and sent his sight spinning.

"Rick!" Beth screamed his name, and Rick shook his head to clear his vision.

He saw Reilly now on his feet, advancing on Beth, and Rick growled in anger and pushed to his feet. He threw himself at Reilly—only for the goon who'd nearly knocked him out to hit him from behind and send him crashing to the pavement once again.

Rick rolled to his back and threw his feet up to kick the guy who was reaching down toward him, catching the goon in the chest and sending him stumbling backward. Wasting no time, Rick leaped up and threw a final punch that dropped the guy to the ground with a groan.

Clenching his fists, Rick turned toward where Reilly was still moving toward Beth. He ignored the way his vision was tilting strangely in different directions and the pounding in his head, focused on one thing: taking down Reilly before he did anything to hurt Beth.

Rick was closing the gap between them when Beth let out an angry yell and swung her purse around to smash into the side of Reilly's head. The blow was hard enough to send the man stumbling back, and Rick took advantage of the opening. A solid right hook to Reilly's jaw sent him to the ground, and Rick pulled his fist back in readiness for another blow that wasn't needed as the man slumped unconscious.

Satisfied that the threat was now eliminated, Rick turned to give Beth a reassuring smile—only to see her staring at him in shock.

"Are you okay?" he asked, frowning as his voice seemed to come out much weaker than he'd expected. What…

"Rick!"

He heard Beth's voice as his knees suddenly grew weak, and he lowered himself to the pavement before he could embarrass himself by falling over. Even still, he didn't make it as gracefully as he'd hoped, but he managed to lower himself with some semblance of dignity to sit heavily on the ground.

"Rick?" There was a voice in his ear and a hand on his shoulder.

Oh no. She probably hated him now, after what he'd just put her through. Rick swallowed and turned to blink up at Beth. "Hey, I'm sorry—"

"Shh." She shook her head and offered him a tissue, gesturing to his head. "You don't have to apologize."

"But… you didn't sign up for this when you agreed to go out with me," Rick continued, taking the tissue and dabbing at the cut he could feel stinging along his eye. He hoped he wouldn't need stitches. The sticky feeling of blood had reached his chin, and he swiped at it as he gave Beth as apologetic a look as he could muster. "You must hate me now, after all of this. I wouldn't blame you if you want to go home right now. I can call you a cab; I'm sure I'll have to give a statement when the cops arrive…" He trailed off as the sound of sirens reached him.

Beth frowned at him as the flickering lights of the emergency vehicles began flashing around him. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "That was amazing what you did!"

"I… it was?"

"You took on two huge guys all by yourself!" Beth exclaimed. She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. "That was seriously the hottest thing I've ever seen," she told him with a smile.

What? Rick blinked at her. "But… you helped," he pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but barely," she replied with a roll of her eyes and a grin. "You're my hero, Rick."

The sound of a slamming door had them both glancing up to see a cop car and an ambulance had pulled up to the curb, then Beth looked back at Rick.

"And don't think I'm going to let you off the hook for this interrupted date." She winked. "I want a do-over tomorrow night. Maybe we could take that stroll on the beach you were talking about?"

Rick returned her smile, feeling his chest warm as he watched her. "Yeah… yeah; I'd like that."

"Good!" Beth nodded as the paramedics hurried over to join them. "Then it's a date. Pick me up at seven?"

"Yeah, that sounds perfect," Rick replied with a nod of his own.

Maybe things were looking up for him in the relationship department after all… He was still going to give Thomas a talking-to about the man's cases interfering in Rick's life, but maybe not quite as stern as he'd initially planned. Reilly and his buddy had ruined the end of dinner, but, on the bright side, the situation had helped him impress Beth. Maybe there was something to be said for being friends with Thomas Magnum.

Not that Rick was _ever _going to admit that out loud.

* * *

_Fin._


End file.
